Strangers
by saraleex3
Summary: It starts out as just a simple chance meeting between two strangers. Percabeth. AU.


**Author's Note;;**

**Yeah…. I'm not from New York (haven't been there either… live on the opposite side of the US), so I kinda did make up a lot. Feel free to comment and help me out with this. (: Critiques welcome, but don't kill me, please. D':**

**Anyway, I intend this to be a sort of long-ish story. (: The Percabeth will not be rushed… I feel like that's just how it is. But tell me if I'm dragging it too much…. Or if it is going kinda fast? Ahhhh, I'm not sure. This is my first fanfic. (:**

**CHAPTER 1 / My Entire State of Mind**

**{ ANNABETH'S POV }**

The train that I was riding wasn't what you would call high class. Sighing, I tucked my arms over my backpack and my legs over my duffel bag. The two men to my left that I was sure were strangers to each other had somehow managed to fall asleep on each other's shoulders. Their faces had spots of dirt (at least that's what I hoped it would be), and their fingernails weren't exactly immaculate either. Their clothes were baggy and wrinkled, and of course, the smell that radiated from them wasn't exactly all lavender and roses.

Continuing to stare out the window while trying to block out their snores was no small feat, and since I had nothing else with me that could serve as entertainment, I decided I would attempt meditation. What I had read on the subject was just a short article in one of my mom's fancy magazines, but I gave it a shot anyway. _Anything to try and clear my mind,_ I thought to myself.

With one last deep sigh, I shut my eyes and begin to breathe as the magazine dictated. I focused on how the air went through my nose and how it traveled through my body, taking my time to let each breathe in and out. I was about ten seconds in (what a miracle!), when a memory surfaced in my mind.

_The door slammed shut._

_The loud shattering of glass, possibly something being thrown across the room._

_I was at the dinner table, sketching out the design of a bridge , since all my homework had been completed an hour ago, but upon hearing the slam, my pencil tip broke. My head snapped up, now trying to hear the voices I had been desperately trying to block out only seconds ago._

_It was silent._

_Then, minutes later, I heard sobbing._

_I stood up slowly, walking to our front door. My mom was curled up by the wall, head in her hands, shaking. A few feet away were the shattered mess of one of our fancier wine glasses._

"_Mom?"_

_She lifted up her head. "A-Annabeth..?" Her face was blotchy, with tears still running down her pale cheeks. "I…"_

_I mentally cringed, having put everything together. "It's okay, I'm here."_

"_H-he's gone," Her voice had that hiccup-like strain._

_I could feel a lump in my throat, and I tried to swallow it back down. "I... I'll go talk to him, Mom."_

_She didn't respond. I opened the door and ran out onto the streets, and found my dad's car gone. The lump came back, and I knelt down on our cement drive way, staring at the ground as a tear leaked out._

It was a year later, and the divorce had been completed. I was to be in my dad's custody, while my two brothers would remain with my mom. They had let me finish the school year, and stay the summer, but with September coming around the corner, I had been shipped off onto a schedule of many trains and hours spent crammed up against the scratched up windows. At least my dad had the decency to arrange for me to have window seats on the trains.

When my train finally pulled into the Grand Central Terminal, I had recollected my thoughts and calmed my hands which had been shaking. I stepped off the train and made my way outside, at Central Park where my dad had said he would pick me up. I wasn't sure how to act towards my dad… should I warmly give him a hug, give him the silent treatment, or just be passive and quiet?

I didn't have the time to make up my mind before I was given a surprise hug from behind, albeit it was a rather awkward hug. I turned around to face my dad who was giving me a strained/superficially happy smile.

I returned the same smile, trying to make it obvious I was duplicating the one plastered on his face. I don't think he noticed. Oh well.

"Annabeth! We're going to have so much fun, you're going to love New York! I know you love your buildings, so I've planned for us to take this weekend and visit the –" My dad blabbered on and on, but somehow it felt rehearsed to me.

"Sure dad, sounds great!" I replied when I felt like he had finished, not having fully listened.

He smiled at me, and when I found this one to seem more genuine, I almost felt guilty. Almost. I tucked a strand of my blonde hair behind my ear and got into the taxi my dad had hailed.

"Well Annabeth," he started again, "I hope you realize that I want this to be a good year for you, where you can start over and meet new people. It'll be a good experience! The high school you'll be going to, Harris, it's amazing. You'll love it, it's not overly large, and the campus is beautiful…"

"Sure, Dad," I turned my head to face out the window, something that I had been doing for the whole past few days on the trains.

He sighed. "Annabeth, I know you don't fell… quite… well… comfortable… or maybe happy, but I just want you to know that I love you. And I want you to be happy here."

I looked at him for a moment before replying softly, "I know… Love you too, Dad."

**Author's Note;;**

**Uh… how was that? I'm not sure, I just wanted to create a nice background history for Annabeth in this story. (: **

**I'm probably going to switch between Percy's and Annabeth's point of view… but I'm not sure. Tell me what you think? **


End file.
